Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down!
by MuzzledRavings
Summary: Sergeant Caelina Ashland: 75th Ranger Regiment Special Operations Combat Medic. Served 7 years in Alaska. Awarded Silver Cross for heroism at the battle of Willow Creek. Transferred to project SCHISM. Blew up lab on Oct. 23, 2077. Woke up in the Mojave Desert 204 years later in the body of a Courier who was shot in the head and left for dead. Very skilled. Very smart. Very confused
1. Endgame – Rise against

**Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down!**

 **Sergeant Caelina Ashland: 75th Ranger Regiment Special Operations Combat Medic. Served 7 years in Alaska. Awarded Silver Cross for heroism at the battle of Willow Creek. Transferred to project SCHISM. Blew up lab on Oct. 23, 2077. Woke up in the Mojave Desert 204 years later in the body of a Courier who was shot in the head and left for dead. Very skilled. Very smart. Very confused.**

 **WARNING: This story contains very, VERY crude language.**

 **Chapter 1: Endgame – Rise against**

A mechanical whirring sound filled the air when she threw the switch. Unstable electricity arced through the charged air.

"It's working? Shit! It's actually working!" Came a very feminine shout followed by maniacal laughter. "Now I just have to… wait… that shouldn't- Shit!" She didn't have a chance to finish her thought as the machinery exploded around her.

"Ow…" She whined. Something obviously went wrong. Big time wrong.

"You're awake. How about that." A gentle male voice greeted.

"Aye. " She agreed as she brought a hand up to rub at her pounding head. She finally opened her eyes and found herself staring at a wood ceiling in a dimly lit room. This was _not_ where she expected to be. She _should_ be in the base infirmary. "Sit rep?" She demanded as she sat up and the world spun around her.

"Whoa, easy there. Easy. You been out cold a couple of days now."

"Days?" She looked around at the dimly lit room; clearly a rudimentary doctor's office. It was not the well-stocked and sterile base infirmary she was expecting. "Where the fuck am I?" She said sternly.

"Easy now. You're in Goodsprings."

"Goodsprings?" She didn't know of any place called Goodsprings. "Where's that?"

"Uh… in the Mojave Desert."

"The _Mojave_?! In _Nevada_?" She shot to her feet. Geographical displacement was _not_ the goal of her project! She had clearly gotten something very wrong. "How the fuck did I get here?!" She demanded, ignoring the searing pain just above her left temple.

"A robot dragged you in. Says he dug you outta a shallow grave."

"A _grave_?!" She looked around in panic and ran to the door. The man yelled something to stop her but she reached the door and threw it open. Outside was the desert. There were a few old houses and buildings, but the town looked pretty run down. The harsh glare of the sun was beaming down into her oversensitive eyes, making her headache even worse. She slammed the door and leaned against it. Ok, she was definitely in the desert.

"Are you alright, miss?" The kindly… doctor, she assumed, asked.

"No. I am seriously _not_ alright. I need you to contact the nearest military installation." She demanded. "Something's gone _wrong_."

"Military? You with them NCR folks?" The doctor seemed to be taking this all in stride. She was almost panicking. This could be a monumental breakthrough! Geographical displacement! Teleportation! But what was this NCR he mentioned?

"What the hell's the NCR?" She asked in confusion.

"The New California Republic." He answered calmly.

"California has no jurisdiction in Nevada!" She shouted what she thought should have been obvious.

"Settle down now, miss. I think we got our wires crossed somewhere. Why don't you sit down and tell me who you are and what you think is going on and then I'll fill in what I can." The doctor motioned to the table she had woken up on.

She hesitated but she couldn't think of any better options, so she walked back to the table and sat down. "I'm Caelina Ashland. I'm with the US army's Research and Development department stationed at Borden in Ontario. I was working on a highly classified project when something went wrong and I woke up here."

"Well, Miss Caelina, when you say US you mean United States, am I correct?"

Ash's stomach dropped. Of _course_ she meant United States but he didn't seem to get that right away. Where exactly _was_ she that the US didn't mean United States to a person from _Nevada_?! She quickly back tracked to her original hypothesis: geographical displacement. With the new data she had, she tried to consider a new hypothesis. Nevada wasn't part of the United Stated _before_ the United States existed. Could she have actually caused a _temporal_ displacement? Could she be in the _past_? She looked around the office. Stethoscope, Stimpaks, syringes of Med-X, no leeches, herbs or bone saws. Definitely not the past. But she was onto something.

"Doctor…?" She prompted.

"Mitchell." He supplied.

"Doctor Mitchell. This may seem bizarre and outlandish but can you tell me what year it is?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Why, its 2281." He said without hesitation.

 _Ring-a-round the rosies; a pocket full of posies. Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down!_

Ash's world collapsed around her. 2281. 200 years. Well, 204 to be exact. She had somehow thrown herself 200 years into the future. She dropped her head into her hands as she considered that the United States may no longer exist.

"Are you alright, Miss Caelina?"

"It's Ash." She corrected automatically, lifting her head to look at the man. Correcting the doctor brought back her voice. "Seeing as you're a doctor, I'm guessing you have some education?" She asked hesitantly.

"Best education one can get in a Vault." He answered.

"A vault?" Ash asked in confusion. Then it clicked. "Vault-Tec's _Vaults_? You mean they _used_ those Doomsday prisons?!" She shook her head briskly. "Wait. Wait. Wait! That means… they did it then?" She asked sadly. "They nuked the world?" She dropped her face into her hands again.

"Yes, they did. On October 23, 2077." He answered.

"Let me guess; now the world is a dystopic nightmare haunted by irradiated monstrosities?" She lamented.

"Pretty much." Doc Mitchell was no slouch and picked up on Ash's hints. "What year do you think you're from?"

"2077." Ash mumbled through her hands.

"That complicates things a bit, doesn't it?"

Ash sighed and looked at her hands, wondering if the lack of recognition of the lines and curves was just in her imagination. "How did I get here?"

"As I said, a robot dragged you in. Says he dug you outta a shallow grave."

"Did someone put me in that shallow grave?" As she said it, it came to her like an idea, a memory of struggling against bound wrists. _The game was rigged from the start._ The man in the checkered coat had said as he pulled the trigger. But that didn't make sense! She knew it was a memory but she also knew she hadn't experienced it!

A faint little voice in the back of Ash's head whispered to her. _I did._

 _Who are you!?_ Ash shouted back.

 _I'm you. But the wasteland chewed me up and spit me out and now I got nothing left. A workin' body without a workin' mind. You were the opposite._

 _What? I was a working mind without a body?_ Ash asked in confusion.

 _Uh-huh. Will you take over for me? I'm done with this life._ Ash heard the heavy sigh. Then the voice continued in a fading afterthought. _Just be careful in the sun, you burn easily._

 _What? Hello?! Answer me!_ Ash got no answer.

"Doc?" Ash said shakily. "You got a mirror?"

The doctor silently handed her a mirror. Dull grey eyes stared back at Ash in a monochromatic portrait. Her face was perfectly familiar to her except for the color. She was albino. She wasn't before. And she had long white hair almost to her waist. Longer then she was ever able to grow it in her old life.

"Albinism: a congenital disorder characterized by the absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes." Ash recalled as she looked at herself. "I seem to remember it also causes problems with vision."

"It may." Doc Mitchell replied.

"I think I've figured out what's going on." Ash said as she stared in the mirror. "I was confused." She lied. "I explored a military base a while ago and read some old files. I must have been mixed up."

"Well, a bullet to the head could do that." Mitchell agreed, only somewhat believing her.

"A bullet to the head?" Using the mirror she looked at the large stitched gash above her left temple. "It ricocheted then, right? Just a superficial injury?" Ash asked earnestly.

"One did."

" _One_ did?"

"The other pierced right through the skull. I had to go rooting around there in your noggin to pull all the bits of lead out. I take pride in my needlework but you'll likely still have a nasty scar." Mitchell explained. "So do ya remember who you are?"

"I'm a courier. Or I was. That man in the checkered coat stole my package when he tried to kill me." Ash pried into the dull memories. As it stood now, she remembered her past in 2077 with perfect clarity. She also remembered the past of a young albino wastelander. These memories were vague but she could pull them to the surface with concentration.

She'd lived in an albino tribe until she was seven when the tribe was attacked and mostly wiped out by raiders. She'd escaped with a few others but they had abandoned her in a small town. There she'd gotten a job as a courier, transporting items from person to person in town. People liked her unique appearance, it made he easy to describe and hard to imitate. She gained a fair bit of fame for being a trustworthy courier. A few years ago, the organization she had served came under new management. The new boss had like her. A lot. Rather than risk becoming someone's property, she had left town and found new long range courier opportunities. And now, it was time for Ash to take over.

"Doctor, I'm new to the Mojave region. Could you tell me a little about the area?" Ash asked curiously, trying to ignore the headache.

"How bout you let me run some tests, then we can talk? It's not every day I get to chat with someone who survived being shot in the head."

"I suppose." Ash capitulated.

Doc Mitchell provided Ash with a vault suit so she could finally put some clothes on. She went to the bathroom and got changed, eyeing the myriad of scars that stood out against her colourless skin. The brightly coloured vault suit made her seem even more colourless. Ash glanced in the mirror when she was done and inspected herself. She was tall, almost six feet and she would almost call herself beautiful, in a haunting sort of way. While in the bathroom, she cleaned up and got the remaining dirt out of her hair. She then braided her long, thick locks into a tight braid and curled the braid into an efficient bun that left no strands dangling. Years of life in the military, then a lab, made putting her hair up a feel very familiar. When she was finished, she headed out to take the doctor's tests.

The doctor ran his tests and Ash passed with flying colours. Other than the pounding headache and pain above her temple, she already felt comfortable in her new body. It was strong and lithe and quick. It possessed a hidden strength that reminded her of the strength she'd had during her deployment in Alaska. After the tests were finished, Doc Mitchell brewed some instant coffee, which Ash politely declined, and they began discussing the world at large. The way he explained things to her, Ash almost though he might believe her that she was from a different time. Either that or he simply thought the bullet damaged her memory.

"So some people in California resurrected the government in the years after the bombs fell and the New California Republic is now pushing into Nevada." Ash summarized their long conversation into a few words.

"Yep."

"And a man from these historical technophiles and dogooders, the Followers of the Apocalypse, decided to unite the warring tribes in the East under the banner of ancient Rome and follow a savage, Luddite philosophy."

"Assuming those words mean what I think they do; yep."

"And now the two are readying for another fight over Hoover Dam after the NCR barely held it four years ago?"

"Yep."

"God." Ash said, rubbing her face with her palm. "I _just_ finished my time in Alaska a few months ago! And _now_ I'm in the middle of _another_ war."

"Alaska?" The doc asked.

"The most north western state in the United States." Ash answered automatically. She and Doc Mitchell talked late into the night, until Ash had a decent idea of what to expect in the area. Once they were finished, Doc Mitchell gave Ash the delivery contract for her package, which was a platinum chip. He then gave her a pistol, some ammo and a Pip-boy.

"So this is the gadget Vault-Tec kept hyping. Pretty cutting edge: biological monitoring, global positioning system, extensive database functionality." Ash said as she fiddled with the wrist mounted device. "I should probably leave tomorrow." Ash said looking toward the doctor.

"I reckoned you'd be moving on once you were able. Feel free to use the guest room while you're in town."

"Thank you for everything, doctor." With that Ash retired to the guest bedroom. There she collapsed on the creaky and dirty old mattress. At least it wasn't cold, that made it infinitely better her deployment in Alaska.

 _Temporal displacement._ She hummed to herself as she lay back with her hands behind her head. _Or maybe… reincarnation?_ This was weird. Too weird. She didn't understand any of it. But that didn't matter. She was here; part of this new world and a new war. What would she do when she left in the morning? She should probably track down the man in checkered coat and get some revenge and maybe finish the delivery. That sounded like a good plan. Until tomorrow then.

Ash stepped out into the early morning sun and immediately regretted it. The sun was so bright it was blinding and she could barely see. She waited, hoping her eyes would adjust but it didn't seem to be happening. Shielding her eyes as best as she could, she tried to get the lay of the land. Unbidden, a song came to mind and she whispered the oddly apt tune.

 _"And on that day they'll tell you,_

 _That life hung on with no clue,_

 _The warning signs were all just missed or shattered down,_

 _So it goes,_

 _The kings all failed to tell us,_

 _The madmen failed to sell us,_

 _Of what would then befall the only life we know."_

She sighed and straightened her shoulders. Staggering and near blind she managed to make it down the hill and headed toward the largest building. Once she reached the shade of the building, she caught her breath. She'd have to do something about her hypersensitivity to light. She staggered her way around to the front of the building.

"Everything alright there, youngin?" Came a slow drawl.

"Everything is fucking fabulous." Ash laughed bitterly, already sweating in the hot morning.

"Well then, what can Easy Pete do for you?"

"Need some sunglasses or something. Guess I need money." Ash sighed.

"Head on inside, Sunny might be able to help you."

"Thanks, sir." Ash headed inside and was immediately relieved to be out of the bright sun. As her eyes adjusted she heard a growl and a bark.

"Cheyenne, stay. Don't worry; she won't bite unless I tell her to."

"Trained attack dog. Handy. Looking for Sunny." Ash's eyes finally focused on the leather clad woman in front of her.

"Well, you found her. How can I help you?" Sunny asked.

"Need some money to get resupplied. Got any work?"

"Not in Goodsprings, no. But if you're up for a little scavenging, there's always the schoolhouse. Most of what's in there is junk, but there's this old safe that even Easy Pete wasn't able to crack with dynamite."

"Thanks."

Just then a loud, angry voice came from the other room. "I'm done being nice! If you don't hand Ringo over soon, I'm going to get my friends and we're burning this town to the ground, got it?!" Ash threw a confused look at Sunny who just shrugged. So Ash headed toward the other room only to walk straight in a man in an armoured vest. "What the hell is your problem?" He shouted angrily as he shoved by Ash and headed outside. The second room was a bar as Ash discovered. Behind the bar was a woman who was mumbling to herself. She stopped when she saw Ash.

"Well, you've been causing quite a stir. Glad I finally got to meet you. Welcome to the Prospector Saloon."

"Thanks." Ash replied as she sat at the bar. "Looking for a little information. Think you can help me?" Ash and Trudy spent the morning talking. Ash learned more about the Legion and the NCR. She also learned about the gang called the Great Khans who had helped the man in the checkered coat ambusher her. While Ash fixed the radio they broke, Trudy explained the problems the town was facing and told her about the Powder Gangers. As she screwed the innards back in place and cleaned the sand and dust out of the radio, she mumbled more of the song stuck in her head.

" _The city lines are down,_

 _The kerosene's run out,_

 _The fact surreal,_

 _We relied upon,_

 _I shed this unclean skin,_

 _And start to feel again,_

 _'Cause all the shoulders I wish to cry on are gone._ "

"There." Ash said as she screwed the radio's casing back in place with the table knife. She flicked on the radio and music started playing.

"Thanks! Here are some caps for your work." Trudy said happily and spread a few dozen bottle caps on the counter.

Ash's jaw dropped. "You're fucking with me, right? _Bottle_ _caps_? Really?!"

"Of course. It's the main currency used around here. Some of those NCR folks up in Sloan mentioned the NCR was trying to bring back paper money, but it's not doing too well out here." Trudy explained.

"Bottle caps." Ash repeated, shaking her head. Then she shrugged. "Think I could buy some sunglasses or something with this?" She asked as she gathered up the caps.

"Probably. Chet may be able to sell you some. He's next door."

Ash had a small problem. She had a pistol with a spare mag, a pile of caps and no pockets. When she voiced her problem, Trudy laughed and retrieved a small bag for the caps. Ash thanked her and headed over to the general store. The sunlight was still just as blinding. She staggered into the store, slammed the door behind her and leaned against the door.

"You must be the one Doc Mitchell was patching up. The way I heard it, I didn't think you'd be walking out of that office." The store's owner, Chet, greeted.

"If the bombs couldn't kill me…" Ash mumbled.

"What?" Chet asked in confusion.

"Nothing. I need some sunglasses or goggles or something." Ash said as she stood up straight and examined the store. Half the store was dedicated to mundane things like clothes, tools and knick-knacks, while the other half was dedicated to weapons.

"Let me see what I have." Chet said as he went into the back room. He came out a moment later with two items. Ash approached the counter as Chet laid out a pair of aviators and a tinted pair of motorcycle goggles. "I got both of these."

Ash liked the aviators but knew they'd let in too much light from the sides. So she picked up the goggles. "How much?" She asked, having no idea what to expect.

"Well, they're in pretty good condition, so…" Chet named a number higher than what Ash had.

Ash dumped her bag of caps on the counter. "This is what I have."

"Eh… I suppose that will do." Chet sighed and swept the caps off the table.

Ash took the goggles and fit them into place, immediately preferring her dimmed vision. "Thanks." She said and headed out to find the old schoolhouse. Stepping out into the sun wasn't painful anymore. The tinted goggles worked wonders. It was still bright, but not blinding. A quick scan of the area gave her a better idea of her surroundings. She saw Doc Mitchell's house on the hill and a dozen small houses. She saw a corral of what must be the Bighorners Trudy mentioned, judging by the big horns. Ash didn't know much about livestock, but she knew this must be a mutated version of something. Maybe a sheep? She finally picked out a large building on the hill with a rusted and partly broken jungle gym beside it. She headed up the hill.

"What the actual fuck?!" Ash shouted when the housecat sized praying mantis jumped toward her. Opening the school house door had disturbed a few of the mantises and they had immediately attacked. She struck out with the grip of her pistol and smashed the bug against the wall. Using her flimsy boots that had come with the vault suit, Ash stomped through the building until all the bugs were dead. She then approached one of the bugs that was mostly intact and inspected it. It was indeed a praying mantis. Radiation mutation, she assumed. This made her a little apprehensive of what else she'd find out here.

Ash looked around the one room building; desks, lockers, blackboard, the quintessential classroom. She started looking for anything useful. The only things of note were a safe at the back of the room and a terminal beside it. Out of habit, she flicked the terminal on. To her immense surprise, the terminal started booting up. "This must be fission battery powered! Rob-Co always touted a 500 year lifespan. I guess they weren't lying!" She smiled to herself. She then set to work. It was a standard Rob-Co operating system and while she had no formal computer hacking skills, military grunts learn all kinds of things during training. A few quick button presses and she was in. She found the program and opened the safe.

"Woah! A Stealth Boy!" She said aloud as she pulled the high tech gadget out of the safe. "This should be worth something." In the safe she also found some books in pristine condition. She took her haul and headed back to Chet.

"You're back! Got some more caps?" Chet asked, obviously not wanting to waste his time on her if she was broke.

"Nope. But what's one of these worth to you." Ash answered and set the Stealth Boy and books on the counter.

"Well now! That's some nice tech! You want caps or trade?" Chet asked.

"Trade."

First things first, Ash wanted out of the vault suit. She managed to find a pair of cargo pants and two t-shirts that fit. Then she found a long, tan, lightweight jacket with long sleeves and a hood. Next was a light scarf, a pair of leather gloves and a heavy, solid pair of leather boots. The full outfit covered every inch of skin when the scarf was pulled up and the hood was pulled down low. The last things she could afford were an empty backpack, a messenger bag and a few pouches for her belt.

"Chet. I need more money." Ash said as she practically drooled over the lineup of guns behind the counter. "Any ideas?"

"Well, there's a cave some people use as a makeshift shelter not far from here. You could check there. You might run into some nightstalkers though." Chet said.

"What the hell is a nightstalker?" Ash asked.

"It's like if a dog and a rattlesnake had a bastard child." Chet answered with a laugh.

"Sounds like loads of fun! I am _so_ there." Ash laughed along, hiding a bit of fear, and then headed out to look for the cave. Stepping out into the sun, Ash was infinitely more comfortable in her new clothes. She murmuring the end of the song stuck in her head as she surveyed the landscape.

" _All gone are the old guards_

 _Gone are the cold, cold wars_

 _Weightless we go forth_

 _On wings of amnesty."_

After surveying the landscape she headed toward the low cliffs to the east. She walked along the base of the cliff looking for the cave with pistol in hand. Eventually she saw a promising hollow except in front of it was a family of coyotes, complete with two pups. Ash didn't want to kill them if she didn't have to. She thought back to her survival training and how to deal with wolves. She wasted a bullet, firing up into the air, as she flared out her coat, shouted and waved her arms wildly. Making herself seem big and intimidating worked and the little family ran off.

Inside the cave was very dark. Ash pulled down her goggles so they hung around her neck and was astounded to discover that she could see almost perfectly in the low light. Just when it started to get it's darkest, Ash found a bottle of Cateye .She laughed quietly to herself as she stowed it in her messenger bag. After some careful investigating, Ash's nose picked up on something. The smell was foul; rot and decay. A smell she was all too familiar with. Something dead was down here. A few more steps and she found two obviously dead people. Ash sighed. She hated senseless death. It was one of the reasons she became a medic. As much as she didn't want to disturb the dead, they didn't need their supplies. Checking their pockets netted a few caps. She also sorted through the bag they had. It was all useful stuff so she grabbed it and headed out.


	2. Invincible – Pat Benatar

Finally settled on on a format and structure. Chapter 1 and 2 were merged to make it a better length, as of March 13/19.

 **Chapter 2: Invincible – Pat Benatar**

The sun was sitting high in the sky when she walked back into Goodsprings. She headed to the general store again.

"You're back. And in one piece. Find anything?" Chet asked when she entered.

"Two dead people." Ash sighed.

"Shame." Chet said with no sadness. "They have anything good?"

"Maybe." Ash was starting to realize life wasn't worth much out here. She walked toward the counter and started emptying her acquired bag.

"Let's see. Some 10mm ammo, some food-"

"I'll keep that." Ash said snatching the food away from him and putting it in her bag.

Chet just kept inspecting the bag's contents. "Ah, grenades! Nice!"

"Well?" Ash asked with eyes on the weapons.

"Which gun were you looking at?" Chet asked as he stepped aside to give her a better view.

Ash knew guns. She'd been shooting since she was big enough to handle the recoil. During the food shortages when she was growing up, hunting the vast forests in Michigan had helped provide meat to desperate folks, including her family. Military training had just introduce her to more guns and taught her how to shoot even better. Looking over the guns, she could tell many were in shoddy condition. Some even looked like they wouldn't fire or would break when fired. But there was a diamond in the rough. The hunting rifle was very well worn but it was obvious to Ash it had been a much cherished possession. It was elegant in its simplicity.

"That one." Ash indicated the rifle and Chet looked it over before passing it to her.

"Good eye." He said.

Upon close inspection, Ash found that the word _Paciencia_ , was roughly carved along the stock under the barrel. The gun was in remarkable condition. The flaws she could find were things she could easily fix. The only downside was the lack of scope. Her eyes lingered on the rifle and she felt a sudden surge of homesickness. "How much?" She asked, knowing she couldn't afford it.

"Hmm. It's a nice gun but it's only got a three shot capacity. Most hunting rifles have five. With what you got here…" Chet hummed and Ash held her breath. "I think you'd need double what you have."

Ash sighed and thought quickly. "I got an idea. You trade me this gun for those supplies and I'll deal with the Powder Gangers that are threatening the town."

"I don't care about the Powder Gangers." Chet said dismissively.

"What _do_ you care about?" Ash asked forcefully.

"Caps." Chet answered as he held out his hand to take back the rifle.

Ash reluctantly handed it back. "I'll be back for it." She said as she headed out. She needed caps or influence. There was one sure fire way to get both. Goodsprings' problems just became her problems.

After getting more information from Trudy on the situation with the ex-cons, Ash headed up the hill toward the old gas station. As she walked she sang under her breath.

" _We can't afford to be innocent,_

 _Stand up and face the enemy,_

 _It's a do or die situation,_

 _We will be invincible."_

She got to the station and went inside. Inside the door, she was met by a man aiming a gun at her. "That's close enough. Who are you, and what do you want with me?" The man demanded.

"You better hope you kill me on the first shot." Ash ground out through gritted teeth.

"What? Sorry about the gun. You just caught me off guard, that's all." Ringo said, lowering his gun.

"I heard about what's going on. Why are the Powder Gangers out to get you?" Ash asked, still angry about the gun pulled on her.

"My caravan was on the return trip from California and heading back up to the company branch in New Vegas when we got jumped. Not even a 'drop your weapons and hands up' before the bullets started flying. We put up a good fight, but there was too many of them. I took a few of the bandits down before I ran, so I figure their friends are out for revenge." Ringo explained.

"Ex-cons and thugs. You need a hired gun. I'm available." Ash said.

"All I've got left on me are a handful of caps, but you get me out of this, and I'll make sure the Crimson Caravan pays you back. You've got my word."

"It'll have to do. Come on." With Ringo in tow, Ash headed back to the Saloon.

"Hey, girl! Nice duds!" Sunny greeted then saw Ringo behind Ash. "Ringo?"

"Ringo tells me these Powder Gangers ambushed his caravan. They'll probably do the same to Goodsprings."

"Say no more. I'm in." Sunny said quickly.

"Just like that?" Ash asked surprised.

"Just like that. I have a feeling that I'm going to end up fighting those guys one way or another, so I might as well get it over with. Joe Cobb talks about leaving us alone if we hand over Ringo, but I know his type. He and his friends will come after the town eventually. However, between you, me, and Ringo, we aren't exactly a force to be reckoned with. A lot of people around here look up to Trudy. If you could convince Trudy to join us, some of the folks in town might decide to help out as well. I know Easy Pete's got a stock of dynamite somewhere, and Chet just got a shipment of leather armor we could borrow. Talk to them as well. Finally, there's a good chance we'll all end up with extra holes in us, so if Doc Mitchell could cough up some extra Stimpaks, that'd be great."

"You've been planning this for a while, haven't you?" Ash asked with a smile behind her scarf. "Hey Trudy!" Ash called and poked her head around the corner to look into the bar. "You should help me take down the powder gang. Bullets, explosions, lots of fun!" Ash laughed.

"I was planning on sitting this one out, but for some reason I can't help but like you. I'm with you. Let me have a word with a few other folks and I'll see if I can't round up some more members for this militia you're creating. While everyone does own a gun, we could stand to be a little better equipped. The general store probably has what we need in stock."

"Next on my list!" Ash laughed and headed out. Ringo waited with Sunny and Trudy left to gather the town.

"Hear you're starting a militia." Easy Pete drawled. "Don't you even be thinking about asking for my dynamite. Too dangerous. Gonna kill all yourselves if I let you touch it. Better to leave it buried - safer that way."

"Dynamite: a nitroglycerin based explosive that can be extremely shock-sensitive. As long as your dynamite is properly mixed with stabilizers and absorbents, it should be safe to handle. I'm familiar with the care and handling of explosives, dynamite included."

"Uh huh. Guess you know what you're doing. I'll go dig it up and get it ready. You'll have it by the time the fighting starts."

"Thanks!" Ash said and headed to the general store. She strode inside. "The Powder Gangers are coming. Pick a side."

"What?!" Chet said in shock.

"The whole towns fighting and we need to borrow that leather armour."

"No way!"

"You think life will be _better_ if the Powder Gangers take over?!" Ash shouted.

"I… uh… well…" Chet stuttered. "You made your point. I can provide people with some leather armor and extra ammo. I sure hope it's worth it. And, uh, I'll be guarding the store while all this is going on. I have to put my business first, you understand."

"Yeah, su-u-ure." Ash agreed. "Get that armour to the Saloon." Ash left the store and the grumbling Chet behind and headed to see Doc Mitchell.

"Welcome back. I had hoped you wouldn't need to come see me again so soon. What can I do for you?" Mitchell greeted happily when Ash walked in.

"The town is going to be attacked by bandits. Anything you can do to help?" Ash asked.

"Seems like wherever I go it's always the same. Folks just never leave each other alone." Mitchell sighed.

"Hey! You're preaching to the choir here, doc. But as long as you got something, someone else will always want it."

"Well, I'm not much good in a fight, with my bum leg. And my supplies are scarce. But I'll give you what I can spare." The doctor handed over a few stimpaks.

"Thanks, I'll bring back what we don't use." Ash left the house and scanned the horizon through tinted lenses. In the distance she saw the group approaching.

Ash hustled down the hill toward the saloon and found the whole town ready and waiting. She found some cover and shouted. "This town will protect itself. Take another step and we open fire!"

The Powder Gangers ignored the warning and started lighting their dynamite. Ash flicked off the safety on her pistol and took careful aim. Her first shot was dead on and hit the leader in the chest. Her shot spurred the rest of Goodsprings to start shooting. The Powder Gangers gave up on the dynamite and started shooting back.

When the dust settled, Ash's medical side kicked in and she did a quick sweep for injured townsfolk. There was only one injury, a superficial graze that didn't even need a stimpak.

"That'll teach the Powder Gangs to avoid Goodsprings in the future!" Sunny shouted happily as she approached Ash who had just finished tending the injured person.

"Hopefully." Ash headed over to the Powder Ganger bodies. They didn't have much on them and upon closer inspection, it was clear the armoured vests they wore were more for show then actual protection.

"That was crazy!" Ringo shouted as he ran over to where Ash was searching the bodies. "I owe you a huge favor for this! Here - these are technically Crimson Caravan funds, but I know they'll understand once I explain things."

"Thanks." Ash took the caps and put them in her bag. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I hear a certain gun calling my name." Sunny and Ringo looked at her oddly as she headed off to the general store.

"Chet!" She yelled as she threw the door open.

"Is it over?" Chet asked as he peeked up from behind the counter.

"Yes. Now I want that gun!" Ash dropped the few sticks of dynamite, improvised weapons and caps on the counter.

"Alright. I guess this is enough." He said as he stood up and passed over the rifle.

"And 10 rounds for it, a canteen and a knife."

"No deal." He said and pulled the gun back before she could take it. "Toss in that pistol and the ammo and it's a deal." Chet said as he eyed the pistol tucked into her belt.

"Make it 15 rounds and we're set."

"Deal." Chet finally agreed and gathered the supplies for her. Ash shouldered her new rifle, slipped the combat knife into her boot and stowed the empty canteen. "Pleasure doing business with you." Chet said with a smile. Ash grumbled and headed out. Outside the five powder gangers had been dragged off to be buried. It was getting late and the sun was setting. Ash gauged she had just enough time to visit the Goodsprings Source to collect some water. Sunny had told her about the creatures causing a problem in that area and Ash thought it'd be a good way to test her rifle.

Ash headed to the source in the dying light. She spotted the creatures roaming around the water pump from quite a distance away but only after it was dark enough to remove her goggles. Carefully she crept up to a decent hill and went prone. Looking down the iron sights of her new gun she saw three big lizards. She quietly loaded three rounds and took aim. The first shot was easy; the gecko was standing still and the rifle round killed it quick, the loud crack echoing off the nearby hills. Ash worked the bolt with practiced ease and killed the second one before it could move but the third one was tricky and charged toward her at a ridiculous speed. The sudden speed was unexpected and Ash missed the shot. Years of practice had her reloaded in a matter of heart beats but the gecko was too close. Ash grabbed her rifle and got to her knees just in time to slam the butt of the rifle into the geckos face, breaking some teeth. The gecko was resilient and charged passed the rifle. Ash had to fall back on her back to avoid the teeth and claws. She kicked at the gecko but missed and it chomped down on her boot. Ash took aim with her other boot and drove her heel into the gecko's head. The second strike caved in its skull and the gecko when limp and fell off her ankle.

"Fuck me!" Ash yelled as she relaxed in the dirt. "Oh I am _so_ going to eat you!" Ash lay in the dirt for another moment before she sat up and checked her foot. Luckily the teeth hadn't punched through the thick leather. The pressure had been enough to hurt though. Ash got up and limped over to the water pump where she filled her canteen and slaked her thirst. Once she was done and her ankle didn't hurt as badly she got up and headed toward the gecko.

Using her combat knife she worked at filleting the gecko. Carving up an animal for dinner was nothing new to her. Her father had taught her how to carve animals to get the most meat possible during the food shortages. Ash sighed as she compared the world she came from to the world she was in now.

All her life had been a struggle. She was born during the energy crisis. Access to petroleum was strictly regulated and almost every home had a decaying car in its driveway. The only source of oil available to the US was in Alaska and, in a very heated global climate, the United States established the Anchorage Front Line not long after she was born. The world was falling apart. Nations collapsed into anarchy as food and resources became scare. A New Plague, the Blue Flu, ravaged the world killing millions and sterilizing any who survived. By the time she was fifteen, electricity rationing had gone into effect and China had invaded Alaska in an attempt to seize the oil produced there. With her parents dead, jobs scare and food even scarcer, Ash volunteered for the army before she was sixteen. She was young but the army was desperate by then. Her hunting background and basic survival training gave her an edge in basic training. Someone must have seen some potential in her because instead of shipping out with the others, she was sent to Ranger training. After another year and a half of grueling training, she was deployed to Alaska. She served as a front line combat medic for seven years. After the red Chinese were finally pushed out of Alaska, she stayed with the army for one more year. She was there when the newest iteration of power armour, the T-51b, was deployed in China with sickeningly effective results. She knew the world was going to hell. She could only hope she was on the winning side.

" _This bloody road remains a mystery,_

 _This sudden darkness fills the air,_

 _What are we waiting for?_

 _Won't anybody help us?_

 _What are we waiting for?_

 _When there's nowhere, no where we can run to anymore."_ Ash sung quietly to herself in the quiet night.

Ash finished preparing the gecko with a loud sigh. But life wasn't all bad. You learn to make the most of what you have. Ash smiled to herself when she remembered the time one of her squad mates had managed to kill a moose while on patrol. The problem was he had no idea how to turn a moose into food. Ash had volunteered and a short while later she was elbow deep in moose. She remembered making her squad mate nearly puke when she tried to hand him the heart. It had taken hours to carve up that moose but after word got around, her CO gave her the time as long as he got a moose steak out of it. With meat scarce and fresh meat even scarcer, the whole company had celebrated that night.

With a full canteen, her rifle over her shoulder and an armload of gecko meat, Ash headed back to Goodsprings in the dark. She headed to the school house and built a fire, using her knife and a chunk of flint she found, between it and the rocky cliff. She then proceeded to cook all the gecko meat. She ate her fill, and then dried out the rest to make some makeshift jerky.

Even though she wasn't tired, Ash decided to retire to the school house and out of the cold Mojave night. Inside she found a relatively clear corner and curled up to sleep.


	3. Carry on My Wayward Son – Kansas

**Chapter 3: Carry on My Wayward Son – Kansas**

Ash dreamed of ice and fire. A frozen wasteland filled with burning buildings. The air was thick with smoke and the screams of the dying. She was soaked in frozen blood and she couldn't tell if any of it was hers. Everything hurt and she was exhausted. But it didn't matter. Slowly, she got to her feet. Each step was difficult, as her frozen uniform was stiff and hard to move in. Still, she trudged forward, toward the fire.

Her eyes snapped open and it took Ash a few seconds to remember where she was. She was warm, that immediately removed the thought that she was still in Alaska. The Mojave. She thought as she sat up and stretched. It wasn't a dream then. A quick glace around the dully lit school house confirmed it.

"I suppose it's time to begin the hunt." Ash mumbled to herself as she set her goggles in place and wrapped her scarf around her face. She took stock of her supplies. Other than the clothes she was wearing, she had her rifle and twelve rounds, her knife, a chunk of flint to make fire, a canteen of water and a few days' worth of gecko jerky. It wasn't much. In fact, it was practically nothing but she had survived with less after her parents died. Between her parents dying and her enlisting, she'd gone a few years with nothing. At least now, there was game to hunt; even if it was irradiated, mutated gecko.

Ash stepped out into the morning sun. Even with her goggles it took her a moment to adjust to the bright light. She headed to the saloon to ask a few more questions and say her goodbyes.

"Hey, girl!"

"Hey, Sunny. I'm heading out after the man who tried to kill me. Just thought I'd say thanks and goodbye." Ash said.

"Heading south to Primm?" Sunny asked.

"Yeah. Well, see ya!" Ash said with a wave.

"Wait! I can do one more thing to help you." Sunny said quickly. "Let me see that Pip-Boy." Ash held out her arm and Sunny started tinkering. She worked for a few minutes, mumbling to herself, and then finally stepped back. "There I've updated the map with the locations I know and programmed in the Mojave's radio stations."

"This thing has a radio too?!" Ash asked, as she inspected the Pip-Boy.

"Yup." Sunny laughed. "Stay safe out there. Not many folks are as nice as us in Goodsprings." She added seriously.

"I'll remember that." Ash said and headed out of the saloon.

According to the data Sunny had put in her Pip-Boy, Primm was about 50 miles south. Ash did the math. Assuming a brisk pace she could probably manage 3 miles an hour but in this heat and with minimal water she'd probably want to take it slow, so 2 miles an hour. It was 7:00am and the sun set the night before around 7:00pm. That'd give her 12 hours of walking time, though she could probably walk longer with her night vision, but 12 hours of walking would probably tire her out. That'd be about 25 miles a day. That meant it would take her about 2 days to reach Primm.

Ash decided she would follow the road since it would likely be easy terrain and a pretty straight route. As she walked down the road she looked at the husks of houses that were left along the road. Around midmorning she saw a building in the distance where the road joined the highway. The bright, morning sun was still in her eyes as she approached the building.

When she was close, a voice called out to her. "Hey! Wastelander! You gotta pay the toll!" A male voice shouted. Ash looked around and saw a man in similar prison garb to the Powder Gangers. Another convict.

"How much?" Ash asked to buy a bit of time.

"A thousand caps." He laughed.

"We both know I don't have that." Ash scoffed.

"Well, maybe you can pay me another way…" The Powder Ganged smiled viciously.

Ash made a disgusted noise as she looked the Powder Ganger up and down. He wasn't armed with any gun, just a tire iron and a few sticks of dynamite in his belt. "Alright buddy. One chance. Walk. Away."

"Walk away?! You think I can't take you?" He went to grab a stick of dynamite off his waist. In a flash, Ash had her rifle off her shoulder and aimed. As he lit the fuse she fired. She aimed low. Dynamite is shock sensitive. Her bullet hit the dynamite stick still in his belt and set it off. The result was messy. Even at her distance, Ash felt some of the blood spatter.

She waited with rifle up to see if anyone else would come out. When no one did, she checked the perimeter then checked the building. Inside was mostly broken old equipment and useless supplies. She dug around a bit, trying to get into the scavenger mentality. The only thing of any value inside was a carton of cigarette stashed under a loose floorboard.

"I wonder if people still smoke…" She pondered aloud as she stowed the carton and headed back outside.

She walked south at a leisurely pace in the hot afternoon. She didn't bother to stop to eat and just chewed on some jerky while she walked. In the early evening, the wind picked up. When it was dark, Ash pulled down her goggles and looked around for some form of shelter. Way off in the distance, up on the hill to the west she saw the silhouette of a manmade structure; its straight lines standing out against the rock around it. Ash turned toward it and trudged up the hill.

At the top, she found an old trailer that had been turned into a radio station. She looked around closely trying to find anything of value. When she was still empty handed after ten minutes, she decided the place must have already been looted. She cleared the debris off the old mattress and plopped down on it. As she did she felt the floor buckle slightly. She got back up and pulled the mattress aside. A quick inspection showed that a section of the floor was actually hollow. It took a while but she managed to find the release and opened the hidden compartment. Inside was a steel case, about the size of a rifle. Ash was starting to get excited. _This_ might be something good! Someone had taken great pains to hide it. Carefully she reached in and lifted the case out. She popped open the two latches on the side and cracked open the case. Ash's jaw dropped and she just stared. She stared down in utter disbelief.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say this was hidden here specifically for _me_." She said aloud. Inside the case was a _guitar_. Not any normal guitar, specifically a travel guitar. It was a little over two feet long and looked a lot like a paddle. It had a fold away metal edge to rest against your knee and another for under your arm. Ash's excitement died away when she saw it wasn't stringed. She sighed and lifted the guitar out of the case. Underneath the guitar was the rest of the treasure; strings. Several sets. Ash sat back and went to work stringing the guitar with hopeful enthusiasm.

As a child, Ash had had a great affinity for music. Her mother had owned a guitar and Ash had caught on quickly, playing music by ear at an early age. She loved music but she hadn't held a guitar since before her parents died. She wondered if she could still play. With strings in place she sat back against the trailer and strummed.

"Ick!" She stuck her tongue out at the out of tune instrument. She spent another half hour tuning the damn thing. Finally, it sounded right. Not perfect, but close enough. She started to play the first thing that came to mind. Her fingers were stiff and it took a bit of effort to hit the right chords, but it came back to her quickly. Slowly she got caught up in the tune and found herself singing.

" _Once I rose above the noise and confusion,_

 _Just to get a glimpse beyond the illusion,_

 _I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high._

 _Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man,_

 _Though my mind could think I still was a mad man,_

 _I hear the voices when I'm dreamin', I can hear them say;_

 _Carry on my wayward son._

 _For there'll be peace when you are done._

 _Lay your weary head to rest._

 _Don't you cry no more."_

Ash stopped there. "Holy shit." She said quietly. "That's deep. Bet no one's play that song in 200 years." She grinned to herself. Ash finally decided to get some sleep. She replaced the guitar in the case and then curled up on the mattress. It wasn't long before she drifted off.

Ash woke to the bright Mojave sun the next morning. She spent a while finding the best way to carry the case and her rifle at the same time. Eventually she secured the case to her pack and slung her rifle over her shoulder. Ash left the trailer behind, silently thanking whatever person had left behind her new treasure.

The day was quiet. Ash only had to spend three bullets killing wildlife. The first was what she figured was a giant cockroach. At first it disgusted her, but after leaving the copse behind she had a good laugh. Cockroaches had indeed survived the nukes. When she found the giant scorpion, she realized it didn't really surprise her anymore; the variety of mutations and oddities. She left both the cockroach and scorpion behind. She was not going to eat a cockroach and she didn't know the specifics about what was poisonous on the scorpion.

The sun was setting when she saw the decaying husk of a rollercoaster in the distance. While it was impressive that it was still standing, it was not the most interesting thing she could see. The most interesting thing was the man standing just down the road from the entrance to the town. She knew a soldier when she saw one. As she got closer she checked the soldier over. He was armed with something that looked like a cross between an AR-15 and an AR-10. It must be something new. He also had a sidearm she couldn't see well. He wore a padded and pocketed uniform that looked… simpler than what she was used to. She warily approached the soldier.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Primm is off limits!" The soldier said when she got to where he wouldn't need to shout.

"Wassup?" She asked.

"Some convicts from the prison up the road have taken over the town. Everyone inside is either dead or in hiding. What's more, there are two tribes of raiders causing trouble in this area as well. You'd be safer heading back up to Goodsprings."

"Raiders? Okay, thanks for the warning." Ash said with a nod. "Wait. Why can't you help the town?"

"We'd love to, but they don't fall under NCR jurisdiction."

"Wait, wait, wait." Ash said as she held up her hands. "Did I just hear you right? They don't fall under you're _jurisdiction_?!"

"That's right."

"But didn't you bring the cons here to begin with?" Ash asked. She had hoped this sort of thing died with the old world.

The soldier looked obviously unsettled. "You should talk to Lieutenant Hayes. He's in a tent down the road. Just stay on the west side of the overpass if you don't want to get shot."

Ash shook her head in disgust and proceeded in the direction he had mentioned. As she walked she saw other soldiers milling about and a flag pole. Looking up she knew not to expect an American flag but what was there did surprise her. It was the old Republic of California flag, except the bear had two heads. Ash smiled at that. Someone obviously had a sense of humor. She eventually found the Lieutenant.

"I'm Lieutenant Hayes of the New California Republic Army, 5th Battalion, 1st Company. What's your business?" He addressed her briskly.

"Wondering why the NCR isn't dealing with their cockup." Ash said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" The lieutenant asked in surprise.

"You brought the convicts to the Mojave, armed them and now you're letting them run free. If the area was in your 'jurisdiction' enough to build a prison, why isn't it yours to protect?"

The lieutenant shook his head. "The problem is with supplies. The convicts are better armed and organized than our intel initially suggested. I'm trying to get some reinforcements here, maybe some guns with some firepower, but... shit... things are just going slow."

"Some things never change." Ash sighed. "What _do_ you have?"

The lieutenant looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"The guard down the road said there are civilians still in the town. How long have they been hunkered down?"

"A couple of days now." The lieutenant sighed.

"They might not be able to hold out much longer." Ash considered aloud. "I counted four troopers. Plus you is five. Plus me is six. You're carrying rifles so I assume you have ammo and I see mines on the bridge."

"These troopers are green." The lieutenant sighed.

"But you're not. And neither am I. I heard the NCR is trying to annex Nevada. You need all the goodwill you can get if you want things to go peacefully. You help out those townsfolk and maybe they remember that when the time comes."

"And why exactly should I trust you?" Hayes asked.

"Cause I'm gonna be stupid and volunteer to take point." Ash said shaking her head with a grin. "You and your boys just need to watch my back."

"You say you've got skills. Prove it to me."

"How?"

"There's two Powder Gangers patrolling town. Clear them out and we'll move in behind you."

"You got yourself a deal." Ash grinned.

As a combat medic, she was no stranger to combat but she usually didn't engage from the front. But that didn't mean she wasn't capable of doing so. With the sun now down, Ash was able to remove her goggles and survey the town from a distance. She saw the two Powder Gangers on patrol. She circled to the right side of the town and slipped through a section of broken fence. Crouching low, she managed to reach the buildings without being noticed. She scaled the building and managed to reach the second storey roof. There she lay prone and waited for an opportunity.

The two Powder Gangers eventually met and stopped to have smoke. Ash grinned. People did still smoke. She took aim. The two shots came in rapid succession. She then quickly reloaded and turned to face the large building. Another Powder Ganger stuck his head out of a window only to have it blown off. Ash then waited. From her high vantage point she saw Hayes directing his men into the town. The men moved nervously but did as they were told.

When Hayes's group was in position she got up and carefully descended the building. She headed toward the door of the building she had climbed. She carefully entered the building and found it was an old post office. Once she was sure it was clear, Ash took a moment to reload. She sighed when she noticed she only had five bullets left.

She left the building and tried the casino next door. From outside the door she could hear movement inside. A quick glance through the dirty window showed many people gather near the doors. None of them looked like Powder Gangers. She pushed the door open while staying behind the wall beside it for cover.

"We don't want to trouble!" Came a yell from inside.

"I'm a courier with the Mojave Express." Ash answered.

"Alright, come on in."

Ash took a breath and rounded the corner. Inside the casino was almost the whole town.

"Was it you that killed them gansters?" The old man asked when she got close.

"Yeah, those fuckers are really annoying." She answered. "I'm looking for the Mojave Express owner." She asked as she rested her rifle barrel in the crook of her arm.

"That'd be me." The old man greeted. "Oh, wait. You're one of the couriers." He said. Without her goggles up, even that small section of her face made her recognizable.

"Yeah." Ash said through gritted teeth. "I was ambushed in Goodsprings. Fucker took my package and tried to execute me."

"Goodsprings? Then you're the courier from the radio." He said sadly.

"What?" Ash asked, confused.

"Radio New Vegas reports the news."

"Ah." Ash would have to check that out later. "Anyway, I mean to get my package back. Looking for a slimy cocksucker in a checkered coat. Seen him?"

"Yeah. But you want to talk to Deputy Beagle. He was the one keeping tabs on those fellas." The old guy explained.

"Where's he?" Ash asked, looking around.

"The Powder Ganger's took him hostage. They're all holed up in the Bison Steve across the street."

"Fuck me! Why did I think this would be easy?" Ash exclaimed. "I need some ammo." Ash lamented.

"I can help you with that." The old man said happily.

Ash tied the tourniquet, a belt taken from a dead Powder Ganger, tightly around her thigh. The bullet had caught her in a bad spot, the inside of her thigh. It was bleeding badly. She needed to stem the bleeding. Lucky for her, in one of the rooms she'd cleared she'd seen the Med-x. She applied the painkiller to the wound and used a bedsheet to try and stop the bleeding.

With five more .308 rounds received for her carton of cigarettes, Ash had headed for the Bison Steve. Hayes's group held position in cover behind her, near the casino. She breached the door with a solid kick and used three bullets to kill the three cons inside. The Powder Gangers weren't expecting an attack. Ash proceeded down the hall and found a big room. Inside were four Powder Gangers. Ash wished she'd had some backup when the firefight began but a raw recruit would have just gotten in the way. As it stood, she needed to use the wall as cover and hope the 200+ year old drywall would protect her. It didn't. One of the cons had something high caliber and the round went through the wall and her right leg. Ash ignored the pain and fired back. Eventually killing the cons. Limping, and bleeding considerably, she'd found the deputy. She told him to beat feet and get to the casino. She then quickly tied one of the Powder Gangers' shirts around her leg wound. In the quiet building she could hear the creaky steps of the people above her.

On the second floor, she used her last bullets to kill the cons who'd come to investigate the noise. She could still hear more people around. She opened a door near the old elevator and her eyes lit up at the sight inside. It was just an ordinary janitor's closet, but on the wall was a box bearing a faded red cross.

"Come on." She prayed quietly as she shut the door behind her and pulled the box off the wall. "Jackpot! She grinned as she pulled out a Stimpak. She immediately applied the stim to her leg. Whoever created Stimpaks deserved a goddamned medal. Stimpaks were the ultimate in medical triage. A single stimpak could prolong life by hours in some circumstances. They didn't work the way civilians thought they worked though. It wasn't a magic healing drug that removed all injury. Instead it was a cocktail of drugs that provided the boost a soldier needed to keep fighting. It contained painkillers, antibiotics and epinephrine, as well as a coagulant to stanch bleeding and a long term natural healing booster. One stim was usually enough to get you through a firefight. A few stims could be piggybacked on top of each other over time to get you to safety. She'd even heard stories about soldiers surviving unbelievable injuries with appropriate stim use. While infinitely useful, stims had serious drawbacks. While forcing your body into overdrive, stims caused the user to use energy at an accelerated rate. This meant when the stim wore off, the user would be very hungry and tired. It also dehydrated the user. It could also blind the user to the severity of their injuries and cause them to do further damage. For now though, Ash didn't care. It was only a matter time before the rest of the cons found her.

Ash started hearing footsteps outside the door. She stowed all the rest of the supplies from the first aid kit in her messenger bad. With the Stimpak providing a new adrenaline boost, Ash shouldered her rifle and drew her knife. She burst through the door and surprised a Powder Ganger with a knife straight into his jugular. She then dodged a clumsy swing of a tire iron and slit the second one's throat. Acting quickly, she searched the floor after pulling a belt off one of the Powder Gangers.

When she was sure it was safe, Ash ducked into one of the hotel rooms. She locked the door and shoved a chair under the knob. Then she gave an all-clear signal out the broken window to Hayes. Now she sat on the bed, staunching the blood flowing from her leg. When the Med-x finally kicked in, she pulled back the bloody bed sheet and used the rest of the supplies that had been in the first aid kit to clean and stitch the wound closed. When her vision started to blur she knew the stim was wearing off. She quickly finished bandaging the wound then chugged what water she had left. She then lay back on the bed and pulled out the last of her jerky.

" _Masquerading as a man with a reason,_

 _My charade is the event of the season._

 _And if I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know."_

She mumbled around bites of jerky. She managed to finish the jerky before she fell asleep.


	4. Road to Nowhere – Ozzy Osbourne

**Chapter 4: Road to Nowhere – Ozzy Osbourne**

Ash woke when the first rays of light stung her sensitive eyes. She sat up and looked around. She checked her leg wound and the bandages were still clean. As she checked the wound her stomach growled. She checked her bag but she was out of food and water. Gritting her he teeth, she got to her feet.

"Fuckin' Powder fucks." Ash grunted. She started limping her way through the building, searching for loot. She checked the hotel rooms one by one. Inside one room she was excited when she saw a few more med-x syringes on the floor around the bathtub. She approached to gather them and stopped cold.

"Cowardly fucker took the easy way out." Ash said as she stared at the skeleton in the tub. She hesitated only a moment longer then checked all the syringes. There were two that were still full. Ash applied one to her leg and stowed the other one. With less of a limp she explored further. In the last room on the floor she found a holotape and a duffle bag. Fiddling with her Pip-Boy she managed to get the tape to play.

"Mr. Petersen." The rough voice on the tape began. "If you want to see your wife alive again, bring the cash in small unmarked bills to the Bison Steve on Tuesday."

"A ransom?" Ash sighed. Then she looked at the duffle bag. "A _ransom_!" She quickly unzipped the duffle bag and saw it was full of money. Pre-war money. The kind she _literally_ killed for not so long ago. This was a lot of money. At one point in her life, finding this much money this would have seemed like a miracle. Now, it was pretty much useless. She pulled a wad of money out of the bag and examined it. It reminded her of home. She decided to bring the duffle bag. She didn't know if it was worth anything and figured she might as well find out.

Ash headed out and searched the dead Powder Gangers on the floor. She found some dynamite and a few improvised weapons. She gathered everything she could and headed downstairs. There she scavenged again; finding an incinerator, a varmint rifle and a bit of ammo. Eventually she found the kitchen and some food and water.

"200 year old Salisbury steak… yum." Ash sighed and opened the package. "It can't be worse than some of the army's MREs." She took a tentative bite. It wasn't great but it wasn't terrible. "Shit with some jalapeño cheese spread this would be downright edible!" She found a chair and ate and drank everything she'd found. When she finally finished replenishing what the stim had used, she finished searching and gathering.

Near the entrance was a small room that must have been a store, maybe a gift shop. It was obviously already looted but she looked around anyways and found a locked safe behind the desk. She smirked to herself as she remembered back to her old life. Hacking, she'd learned in basic training, on the down low. Lock picking she'd learned in the field. A bad ass Ranger she'd been paired with had taught her. His uniform said Porter, but no one called him that. He was Pike. She'd had a tough life, but it was nothing compared to his. He was quiet and terrifying and no one crossed him. Ash had been in the field with him numerous times before she actually spoke to him. One day the unit had been smoking and joking in a fortified icebox (a concrete shelter with no heat) when she'd caught Pike daydreaming. So she turtle fucked him (hit her Kevlar helmet against his) to wake him up. Everyone went silent and stared. The last commie who crossed Pike ended up _on_ a pike. Pike was jarred alert. He made hard eye contact with Ash, and then looked back out the window. Another squad mate had laughed and followed Ash's example and raised his own helmet to hit against Pike's. Before he could, Pike was on his feet and tackled the guy to the floor. It took three guys to pull him of the poor smuck. Later when they'd been marching to a new location, Pike had approached her. Ash immediately went to apologize but he cut her off.

"You remind me of my sister." He'd said.

"She back home?" Ash had asked tentatively.

"No." He'd answered succinctly. "She died."

After that she'd found herself working with Pike more and more. Occasionally, when there was no one around, he'd speak. She ended up patching him up more than a few times and laughed when she overheard someone call her his pocket medic. One time they were checking a small, abandoned town for supplies when they came across a gun safe. Pike had it open in a heartbeat and Ash had voiced her surprise. He'd smirked and offered to show her how to do it. Pike was still alive when the army had pushed into China but she wasn't with him anymore. When she was transferred off the front lines she'd inquired about him but she never found out what happened to him.

Ash recalled all this while picking the lock with some bobby pins she'd found in the store. The lock was harder than any other she'd dealt with but she managed to pop the lock eventually. Inside she found a bunch of old money and an old timey cattlemen revolver. The barrel, frame and cylinder were made of a smooth black metal decorated with ornate gold etchings, and the polished ivory handle was inlaid with the clubs symbol. The word "Lucky" was engraved on the silver plate on the ejector tube.

"Nice." She said aloud and stowed the pistol. With the hotel clear, Ash headed back to the Casino.

Upon exiting the hotel, Ash was surprised to see Hayes had moved his camp to the center of town.

"Lieutenant." She greeted as she approached him.

"Ah, miss. I was beginning to worry." Hayes replied as his eyes fell to her bandaged leg. "You were injured?"

"Eh. It's nothing." Ash brushed off the lieutenant's concern.

"I think one of my troopers has basic first aid training."

"Don't worry about it. I have a bit of medical training myself." Ash assured. "How's the town?"

"Glad for the support. Looks like they lost their sheriff and the deputy is a real piece of work." He sighed.

"Speaking of the deputy he's got some info I need." Ash said.

"He's hiding out in the back of the casino." Hayes added.

"Thanks." Ash wondered off and found the so called deputy. She got the information she needed and was able to trade everything she'd acquired for some food, water and ammo.

"Novac? What kind of name is Novac?" She asked herself as she left the casino.

"Get your info, miss?" Hayes asked when she came back outside.

"Yeah, looks like I'm off to Novac."

"Novac?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah, know it?"

"It's east of here. But the mountains are dangerous. Your best bet is to head south through Nipton and hook around the mountains. That said going east gets you closer to the river." He said gravely.

"The river." Ash thought aloud. "The Legions on the other side, right?"

"Right, and they won't hesitate to kill you, or worse."

"Isn't there an NCR presence east of here?" She asked.

"No. We're spread too thin as it is. Camp Searchlight was attacked and turned into an irradiated hellhole and I got word Nelson was just taken by the Legion last night. Camp Forlorn Hope is the only sizable presence south of the dam and it's withered away to almost nothing. Novac's basically alone out there."

"Well…" Ash started. "Shit." She thought for a moment. "It must be a big town then? With fortified defenses?" She hoped.

"Novac? Fortified defense? Hell no." The lieutenant laughed. "They do have one thing going for them though. Word is a couple of First Recon snipers took up roost there. Nothing in crimson gets within 800 yards of that town."

"First Recon?! You mean the first reconnaissance battalion?" Ash almost gasped in surprise.

"What?" The lieutenant looked confused. "Most people just call em First Recon. They're the best shots in the NCR army."

Ash decided she was reading too much into it and it couldn't be the same First Recon she'd worked with in Alaska. "Nevermind. How do I get into town then?"

Hayes laughed. "Don't wear crimson." He stated obviously.

"Ha ha. Very funny. Any other hot tips Mr. Comedian?" Ash deadpanned.

"No. Got a question though. You military?" He asked directly.

"That, sir, is a very long story and one I doubt you'd believe." Ash lamented. "How long will it take me to get to Novac?" She asked to change the topic.

"If you hook around the mountains, skip Nipton and don't run into trouble, you might make it by sunset tomorrow."

"Thanks for all the help, LT." She said offering a hand.

"Thanks for leading the charge. And watch out for the gangs south of here." He said and shook her hand. Ash then turned and headed south.

Ash hated the cold. For seven long years she had been stationed in frosty Alaska. She'd suffered through frostbite and hypothermia and she had seen more than her share of people die from exposure. She'd endured temperatures so cold that Fahrenheit and Celsius gave up arguing. There were times she thought she'd never be warm again and times she swore she would never again complain about the heat. But today? Fuck… she almost _missed_ Alaska.

She checked her Pip-boy and groaned when she saw the triple digit temperature. It had been several hours since she left Primm and the sun now hung high in the sky. As she walked she cursed. She cursed everything and everyone who had done her wrong. Eventually she felt a little better, but she was still hot.

"You shouldn't swear like that Cae." She heard the long lost echo of her father. "Proper ladies don't swear."

Ash snorted at the memory. "Some kinda lady I turned out to be. You'd be _so_ proud, dad. Your daughter, the ironic combat medic." As she walked she reminisced. It was hard to believe that everything she remembered was now _ancient_ history. She thought back to the different squads she'd served with over the years. She missed always having someone to watch her back. She felt very alone now.

Ash tripped over her feet and fell face first into the sand. She rolled over onto her back and stared at the sky. It was too hot. She needed a break. But not here. Grudgingly, she pulled herself to her feet and looked around for shade. She saw a small strip of shade behind a boulder and headed that way. A few minutes later, Ash plopped down in the shade and cracked open her canteen. She drank slowly and carefully, making sure not to drink too much.

"See, Cae? There." Her father whispered. Ash didn't respond. She needed to be quiet. She and her father were lying prone 500 yards from a creek that a deer trail ran past. They were silent and well camouflaged. The tracks they'd found near the creek had been fresh and they'd decided to stake out the site. That was 33 hours ago. Now the skittish deer was slowly approaching the creek. "Wait for your chance." He whispered. Ash waited, looking down the sights of her vintage rifle. Finally the deer reached the creek and bent to drink. "Relax and breathe." Ash did as she was told and relaxed and steadied her breathing. Two deep breaths. After the third exhale, she fired. Her bullet found its mark. "That's my girl."

Ash shook her head vigorously. "Fuck me! When did I get so nostalgic?!" She said loudly. She needed a distraction. Sunny had said there was a radio in her Pip-boy, so she flicked it on and listened to the grainy song that came out. "Blue moon, huh? I wonder how much music has survived." After a few songs, Ash got back on her feet and kept walking. Eventually, the announcer came over the radio.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our program. This is Mr. New Vegas, and each and every one of you is wonderful in your own special way. I've got news for you. A package courier found shot in the head near Goodsprings has reportedly regained consciousness, and has made a full recovery. Now that is a delivery service you can count on." Huh, guess I did make the radio, Ash mused. "Refugees at Bitter Springs are giving startling accounts of the Legate, known as Lanius, who is said to be Caesar's top field commander. One refugee told us that "The Legate took over an 'under-performing' squad of troops by beating its commander to death in full view of everyone." The Legate then ordered a tenth of his own troops to be killed by the other nine-tenths. And you thought your boss was a pain."

"The fuck?! Decimation?!" Ash exclaimed. "Even the reds didn't go _that_ far." Ash sighed. "Aww, fuck this world and the people in it! Maybe after I kill the checkered fuck I should just find somewhere to sit back and watch the world burn." Ash was in a foul mood the rest of the day. She had to make a decision. She had to decide if she wanted to get involved in _another_ brutal war. War had been her life for the past ten years. She'd always figured she'd die as a soldier. But after the US pushed back the red Chinese into China, she'd been there to witness the atrocities her army committed. Being a soldier lost its appeal after that.

Later that afternoon, Ash took out some of her anger on some giant ants that crossed her path. She wanted to conserve bullets but the ants were interested in her. Ten bullets later, all the ants were dead and she had no loot to compensate their use.

Ash walked well into the night. Eventually she came across the end of the mountains and was able to cross east. On the other side, she found shelter and managed a few fitful hours of sleep.

In the morning, Ash pressed on. Once the songs on the radio started repeating, she flicked it off and sung as she walked.

" _I was looking back on my life,_

 _And all the things I've done to me._

 _I'm still looking for the answers,_

 _And I'm still searching for the key._

 _The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me._

 _It just won't leave me alone._

 _I still find it all a mystery,_

 _Could it be a dream?_

 _The road to nowhere leads to me._

 _Through all the happiness and sorrow,_

 _I guess I'd do it all again._

 _Live for today and not tomorrow._

 _It's still the road that never ends."_

The day was not as hot as the one before and Ash was thankful. In the afternoon, she followed the road into a canyon and saw a small fortified building ahead. She approached it warily. The sign out front showed the NCR symbol but there was no one to greet her. A quick scout showed no one around. So she approached the door. Standing to the side, she opened the door. The smell was almost enough to make her vomit. She retched off to the side and tried to breathe carefully. A glance inside showed the rotting bodies she was expecting. Inside was a nightmare; pieces of bodies littered the ground, blood spattered all the walls and the floor was slick with blood. Cautiously she stepped into the building.

She recognized the uniform on the first dismembered body. He was definitely NCR. There was no point in checking his pulse. He was long dead. She knelt down anyways to close his eyes. She heard the click as she touched the body. She dove aside before she could think. The blast rocked the building and caused sections of the ceiling to collapse on her. She lay dazed waiting for her hearing to return for several minutes. She just kept swearing until she could hear herself again. Finally she got up and shook herself off. She only had a couple shrapnel wounds and no debris in any of them so she ignored them. She ignored the newly red painted walls as well.

She saw the holotapes on one of the desks and picked them up carefully. She slid the first one into her Pip-boy.

She heard a bored voice come through he Pip-boy's speaker. "...drove the raiders off. No casualties. In the meantime- Patrol's back. They're late. I hope they got a good excuse. What took-" It ended there. She played the next one. A firm and threatening voice spoke. "This is a message to the NCR from the Legion. We are coming for you. Run and we will catch you. Hide and we will find you. No matter what you do you are all going to die. We took one of the women alive."

"Oh, for fuck's sake. _This_ is how the Legion plays?" She said into the silent room. She stowed the tapes and went to the door that lead to the other room. She only saw the tripwire because she was looking for it now. Carefully she disarmed it and then looked at the elaborate set up. In the room were more bodies. One was in something that looked like a uniform but she didn't recognize it. The other was a woman. She was naked. Ash checked the bodies extra carefully then pulled a sheet over the woman. Being very careful, Ash checked for loot but the place had already been cleaned out. She headed back outside and closed the door behind her.

Ash was in a grim mood as she walked one. Soon, she saw a strange blob on the horizon. Try as she might, between the sun's glare and the distance, she couldn't figure out what it was. By the evening, she reached the edge of a town. She proceeded directly to the blob and stood beside it.

"The hell?! A dinosaur?!" She walked around to the front of it. "With a thermometer?" Realization hit Ash. "Oh fuck! It's a _tourist trap_!" She circled back around the side of the dinosaur and saw the motel sign. The motel's name was 'The Dino Dee-lite'. Under the name, half the letters were missing from the "(No) Vacancy" sign. Leaving only the letters NO VAC. Ash groaned loudly. That was either insanely clever or ridiculously stupid. She didn't know which.

In her stupefied state, Ash missed the quiet footsteps behind her. "Well. Welcome to you. You look tired from the road. Why don't you relax a spell, let this fine town take care of you?"

Ash turned to see a sweet older lady with a happy smile on her face. Ash's polite side kicked in. "Pardon, ma'am, but I don't think we've met."

"Oh, what am I doing? I got to thinking about making a good impression and plain forgot to tell you my name. I'm Jeannie May. I take care of folks here at the motel. Long as they aren't trouble makers." Jeannie May stressed the last word.

"Motel? Like I can rent a room?" Ash asked skeptically, unsure if she was willing to accept something so ordinary.

"Well, I think that's a fine idea. I'll give you a good flat rate, and you can stay as long as you like. Least till the busy season comes. 100 caps sound good?"

"I can't afford 100 caps right now." Ash sighed.

"Well that's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have money troubles from time to time. You just come on back when you can afford it, and that room's all yours."

"Is there any work available in town? Maybe I can get some caps that way." Ash thought aloud.

"Well, let's see. Dusty McBride's been losing some Brahmin, but that's probably the heat more than anything. Honestly, it's been real quiet. Ranger Andy's still hurt, but we got these two gentlemen snipers watching the road day and night, keeping the trash out of Novac. They've been a blessing."

"Wait a minute, _Ranger_ Andy?!" Ash asked in surprise.

"Yes, that's what I said."

"Oh, uh… anything else?" Ash tried to hide her previous outburst.

"Well, up north a ways you'll see a big tower. That's HELIOS One. Used to be a power plant in its day. And there's a town just east of here called Nelson. Used to be such a quaint little place until those slavers took it over. But we got our wonderful snipers keeping an eye in that direction, and so far the slavers have left us alone."

"Who's in charge of security around here?" She asked, deciding that telling a random civilian about the wiped out NCR outpost was probably a bad idea.

"That'd be Ranger Andy, but you could probably talk to either sniper as well."

"Thank you. I will." Ash said and left to look around town. She wandered around town for a while until she saw a man in the same odd uniform she'd seen in the NCR outpost. She saw the hat too. He was walking right toward her.

"We haven't met yet. You must be new in town. I'm Andy."

"Names Ash. Hear you're in charge of the Security around here." She looked at his armour. "You're with the NCR, right?"

"Was. Was with them. That was back when my arm and leg used to work better. I still like to pretend I'm a Ranger, though. I'll check in with the guys up at the station pretty regular on the ham radio. Sometimes they stop by, tell me they're paying their respects, the smug bastards. They haven't been responding to me, last couple of days. I guess they got tired of hearing me talk, but it's still got me a little worried. Hell, listen to me talk. Like some damn mother hen." He explained sadly.

"Aww, fuckin' fuck." Ash sighed.

"What?" Andy asked.

"There's a NCR outpost a few hours down the road south. That the one you're talking about?"

"Yeah, Ranger Station Charlie. What about it?" Andy asked intently.

"I stopped in on my way by." Ash sighed. "The place was massacred. Everyone there was wiped out."

"What?! What happened?!" Andy asked intently.

"Members of the Legion ambushed them." Ash pulled out the holotapes and played them for the Ranger.

"Those were good men at the station. Good men!" Andy cried. "This whole town was sleeping a lot easier because of them. Now, who knows what we're in for? The Legion? Christ, we'd be better off with Raiders!"

"I'm sorry. I know you knew those guys." Ash said sadly.

"Thank you for telling me. I know that knowledge didn't come without risk."

"You're telling me. Legion had that place booby trapped. Disarmed what I saw but it's probably still not safe."

"Tell you what. I'll pay you for what you did, but I'll do you one better, too. There's a move we have in the Rangers for knocking an opponent off his feet. Saved my butt a bunch of times, maybe it will for you too. Let me show you how it's done." Andy handed her a bag of caps and the started showing her a takedown technique. He started to explain it slowly.

"Oh!" Ash said when it hit her. " _This_ one!" She said and finished the technique dropping Andy on his butt.

"Well, now!" Andy laughed. "That there's a Ranger takedown." He said as he took Ash's hand to pull himself up. "Where exactly did you learn that move?"

"From a Ranger." Ash said cryptically. "This enough caps for a couple of beers?" She asked, holding out the sack.

"Should be."

"I'll buy ya a round."


End file.
